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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Greyfriar and Blog-o-versary

Just one review this time ‘round at SFFWorld and it happens to be mine.

But first ... About a week ago, this blog turned 6 years old. Hoooo-leeee crap. I wasn't sure what it would evolve into but I didn't imagine as a result of this and my work at SFFWorld that I would be getting so many books. When I first started, I was reading quite a few comic book blogs and only one or two of those folks are still blogging regularly. Or at least regularly with content that I continue to read.

I guess in blog years, 6 years makes me one of the crotchety old dudes. So stop speeding down my street and keep off my lawn! I moved to a new house, switched jobs about three times and got a dog in the time since I began this blog. A lot of newer blogs have cropped up and far surpassed the consistency and quality of content I post here. Folks like Adam, Aidan, Amanda, Andrew, Graeme, James, Jeff, Kristen, Liviu/Robert/Mihir/Cindy, The Mad Hatter, Mark, and Pat just to name a few.

The Vampire Empire is set in the year 2020, 150 years after Vampires have come out of hiding to wage war on humanity. The vampires have taken over a good portion of Europe and driven humans to the equatorial regions since vampires don’t deal well with warm weather. The novel begins when Princess Adele’s airship is taken down by vampires on the way to meeting her betrothed Senator Grant, a larger than life American who killed quite a few vampires over the course of the war. Although Adele is reluctant to marry this man, she realizes the marriage will unite the two human nations under one banner which would give humans a better chance at fighting the war against the Vampires. Fortunately for Adele and the hopes of humanity, the mysterious Greyfriar comes to save the day and rescues her from the vampires.

The authors smartly show both sides of the vampire-human war. While this doesn’t necessarily paint the vampires in any better a light, it doesn’t make them an unknowable evil. Through character conversations, the Griffiths reveal a backstory for the vampires that doesn’t differ entirely too much from the commonly accepted as the vampire myth with a few exceptions. For example, the aforementioned aversion to warm weather is a logical enhancement to the myth. However, what was interesting was the mention of vampire children, and vampire women birthing vampire babies. Clearly, there is something more to be told here of the origins of the vampires.

In the end, I enjohed the novel, but I couldn’t help but compare it to E.E. Knights Vampire Earth saga, which works for me more so than the Griffith’s efforts. At least one book into the series.

Also, that image above does NO justice to the physical book as foil stamping and 'real life' coloring compared to a jpeg, in this case, is worlds apart.